Unique Lives & Experiences. She'll be talking about everything from feminism to politics to menopause. And since she is one of only a handful of entertainers who can rock EGOT bling, we expect to learn a lot from this talented lady.

Weekend Warrior: Whoopi Goldberg comes to Toronto, Veggie Pride and hacking for a good cause

Weekend Warrior: Whoopi Goldberg comes to Toronto, Veggie Pride and hacking for a good cause

By Sabrina Nanji

Published: Thursday, May. 31, 2012, 04:29 PM

Sister act

Whoopi Goldberg will be on stage at Roy Thomson Hall tomorrow evening (June 1, 7:30 p.m.) as part of a lecture series for women called Unique Lives & Experiences. She'll be talking about everything from feminism to politics to menopause. And since she is one of only a handful of entertainers who can rock EGOT bling, we expect to learn a lot from this talented lady.

DIY altruism

A weekend-long hackathon at the Centre for Social Innovation could be altruism at its finest. The worldwide Random Hacks of Kindness event will bring together Toronto's developers, techies, designers and writers to problem solve and and create innovative solutions for the greater social good. Okay, we know these idea hackers have bigger issues to deal with, but we can’t help but hope they’ll get cracking on some #TorontoProbs.

Pride parade

No, not that pride parade. The Veggie Pride Parade celebrates vegetarian and vegan culture, sustainable and eco-friendly food practices and the love of animals. So, meat fans, if you attend, at least you'll have some interesting talking points if you ever get to meet these babes. We’re betting Rob Ford will be more inclined to show up for this particular march. The free event starts Saturday at noon and kicks off at Yonge and Bloor.

Veggie Pride Parade 2011 (Image: Alexandra Gagnon)

Beach blues

Okay, it might rain this weekend, but that’s probably Mother Nature’s way of telling you to enjoy some soulful, gut-wrenchingly heavy blues music on the beach. Now in its eighth year, the Waterfront Blues Festival will bring together blues, soul and funk musicians such as MonkeyJunk, Tad Robinson and Dylan Wickens & The Grand Naturals to the stage. A nice recovery from all that One Direction madness this week.

Italian eats

Piazza Italia will turn Yonge and Dundas Square into a celebration of Italian culture on Saturday (noon to 11 p.m.). That means gelato, celebrities, musicians (including Juno winner Dominic Mancuso) and of course, pizza. The event will have a tutorino roaming around teaching the Italian language. But really, the only two words we care about are mangia mangia!